Education Secretary Linda McMahon insisted Tuesday the White House’s recent demands are not about curbing freedom of speech. In the wake of the administration’s threats, Harvard – an institution that is 140 years older than the US government – has begun touting the life-changing impacts of its federally funded research and spelled out in court documents how the Trump administration’s “unlawful” actions could impact not only the university’s employees and students,

Harvard’s lawyers suggest the administration was sloppy when it froze billions in federal funding. A mundane but crucial law is essential to the university’s case against the government.

The elite research institution rejected a list of White House demands that it said would undermine its independence.